Reacción a "Reactions: Invasive alien species an underestimated threat, says most comprehensive international report on them"

The results of the IPBES report on the introduction of alien species into the marine environment and the description of the impacts arising from invasion processes are particularly relevant for the diagnosis of the state of the oceans. Especially in terms of the negative impacts they have. Although the information available for the last 15 years indicates that the rates of introduction of marine alien species have stabilised, with more constant rates being observed, the cumulative total number continues to increase and the main pathways of introduction are maritime transport in ballast water or as fouling on ship hulls and the artificial corridors connecting different oceans such as the Suez and Panama Canal. The stabilisation of introduction rates has probably been favoured by the implementation of ballast water regulations established under the International Maritime Organisation's International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water (Regulation A-4). However, the report warns of the influence of processes such as climate change or pollution caused by human activity to encourage the establishment of these species. The report highlights that attempts to eradicate or contain the introduction and spread of invasive species in the marine environment have failed and this should alert to the need to establish more effective management tools, together with the involvement of civil society in preventing introductions.